Social Expectations
by DaughterOfAres
Summary: Tobias and Eileen go on their first date...or is their second date?


**Social Expectations**

"Eileen, let's go," Tobias whined from the other room. "We'll miss the movie."

"Honestly, Tobias," I whispered as I combed my hair, knowing he couldn't hear me. "Take a deep breath, and keep your pants on."

"On or off, pet?"

Glancing in the mirror, I glared at my roommate. "You're too funny for words."

The other witch tossed her head back in a monstrous laugh, as if I'd just said funniest thing in the universe. "Weren't you saying that you wanted to know what he had to be so _cocky _about?"

"Ha…ha…" I rolled my eyes.

Still laughing, my _dearest friend _came up behind me. "Your parents would kill you if they knew what you were doing."

"Eileen!" Tobias's voice rang out form the other room, but was ignored by both women.

"They'll never find out," I said, sounding more sure about that than I felt.

"Perhaps I should owl them. Let them know that their only daughter is dating a _muggle_."

"They'd kill the poor owl, Mary. Why would you do that to a poor defenseless bird?"

Mary laughed again, but became more serious as she adjusted my shirt. "I still can't believe that they believed you."

"I told them the truth. What's not to believe?"

"They think we're staying with my aunt."

"We're staying in her apartment, aren't we?"

"Do they know she's a squib?"

"I forgot to mention it."

Mary snorted as she stepped back and looked me up and down. "You look perfect."

"When don't I?"

Mary stuck her tongue out at me,and gently pushed me towards the door. "Go. Your muggle is waiting.

As we stepped into the sitting room together, we stopped dead. As though we had rehearsed it both, our heads tilted to the side as one. We stared at the legs leaning against the door. The long muscular legs that came together around a-

" 'ello, lovely." Tobias dropped his feet to the ground before standing and turning towards us.

I cleared my throat and was glad he couldn't read my thought. "What were you doing?"

"Waiting for you." Tobias shrugged as a lopsided smile pulled up the corners of his mouth.

"So you stood on your head?" I felt myself smiling despite myself.

Tobias shrugged, not embarrassed in the least. "Made an impression, didn't it?"

I rolled my eyes, but stopped fighting against my smile. "Let's go. We'll be late."

Tobias's hand found its way into mine as Mary practically shoved us out the door.

* * *

"I'm picking the movie next time," I stated firmly as we exited the theater. "That was the worst. I nearly gagged when he started bawling over her."

Tobias laughed. "It wasn't that horrible."

I raised an eyebrow. "Were we watching the same movie?"

"Probably not." Tobias pulled me tightly into his arms just outside the theater doors, and grinned as I let out a small surprised squeak. One of his hands slid down and gave my bum a small quick squeeze before returning to my back. I didn't mean to press closer to him. Really. I didn't. "I was distracted."

"Oh?" I asked with feigned confusion and mentally kicked myself for sounding pathetically breathless.

Tobias nodded and lowered his hands to my waist, pulling me even closer somehow. "Yes, I was wondering the best way to propose."

I sighed. I'd wondered if he'd try this again tonight. "Tobias, no…"

He dropped down to one knee in front of me before I could stop him. "Eileen, I'm madly in love with you. Marry me."

_Not until you stop behaving like an idiot, _I thought. "Don't be ridiculous! People are staring!'

"Let them stare," he said, not rising from his knee. "I love you. I want to marry you. I've never felt like this about anyone before. Please, marry me."

"Get up!" I could feel my cheeks going red as people passed us. I heard one woman whisper to her husband. 'It'll never last.'

"Not until I get an answer. Don't break my heart, Eileen. It can't take much more torment."

"The answer is the same as it was last time. No."

Tobias sighed but grinned as he lifted himself up off the ground. "You'll say 'yes' one day."

I gave a snort of disbelief. "Doubtful. Not if you keep making a fool of yourself. "

"We're meant to be together. I know it."

I laughed much more loudly than I intended to. "Are we now?"

"If we weren't, you wouldn't have come on this date with me. "

"I wouldn't?" We had started walking down the street towards his small apartment.

"Nope."

"So, because I came on one date with you, we're destined to be together."

"Second date."

"This is our first real date. The other one doesn't count. We'd just met."

"But we left the café and our friends. So it counts as a date."

I laughed. "Where do you come up with this?"

He stopped long enough to pull me in for a kiss. This time it was my hands that pulled him closer, and I could feel every part of him pressing against me. I'm not ashamed to say that I wanted to rip all his clothes off right there on the sidewalk.

"I love you," he whispered as he pulled back. That almost ruined the mood for the evening.

"We just met a few days ago." I started walking, and his strong arm wrapped around me. I hadn't realized I was cold until I shivered against him.

He shrugged, "I loved you the second we met."

My arm wrapped around him as I realized he meant it. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, too, but I couldn't. After all, we'd known each other for only a week. How could I love him already? He didn't seem to mind my silence, and we finished the short walk to his apartment without saying anything.

It was the first time I'd seen his apartment, and I was surprised at how…tidy it was. I expected him to live in a pigsty with filthy floors and an overflowing garbage. However, the little space he had was nearly spotless. His bed sat, without a frame, in one corner with about four feet between it and the TV in the opposite corner meaning the bed also served as a couch.

Tobias went to the small kitchenette and began making tea. I was surprised to hear a touch of embarrassment as he spoke. "It's not much. But with classes and all…"

"I was expecting to see rats scurrying across the floor. I find this much more agreeable than rodents."

He laughed. "If you'd like to…do whatever it is ladies do in the washroom…" he nodded his head towards the small door close to the foot of the bed.

I was curious on what ladies did in the washroom, as well, but decided to play along since he seemed a little nervous.

When I finished, I found Tobias sitting on the edge of the bed facing the TV. A small tray with the tea stood in front of him.

"I don't have a table and chairs. There's not much room for it anyway. Never needed them before either."

"You just take your dates straight to bed without offering them something to drink first?" That sounded much funnier in my head, I noted, as I sat down next to him,and turned so that one leg was up on the bed.

He shrugged, looking embarrassed. "You're the first date I've ever had up here."

"But not the first woman you've ever been in bed with." His embarrassment at this statement surprised me. He'd practically been bragging about all his girlfriends the night we met.

"No." He ran his fingers through his hair. "But you're not like them. I love you."

"Oh." I had no idea what else to say. Saying "get naked so we can screw until your floor gives way." seemed slightly inappropriate.

"What about you?"

"What sort of question is that?" I tried not to turn red, but it was a losing battle.

He grinned and somehow the awkwardness was gone. Most of it anyway. I was still blushing furiously. "You were the one who brought it up, lovely."

"Well, I take it back."

Laughing and without any sort of warning, his hands were underneath my skirt and sliding slowly up the outside of my legs. I was very glad I'd shaved earlier.

"No take back," he said as his hands moved up and down my legs.

I swallowed and would have said anything to make his hand move towards the inside of my thighs. "I've never been in a man's bed before," I paused as his hands moved higher finding the edges of my underwear, "or had one in mine."

His hands froze completely, releasing my underwear with a small snap of elastic. "Oh."

We both remained still for a moment. I wondered if I'd confused him. "That doesn't mean stop."

"Right…but…I mean…"

How could he possibly be more nervous about this than me? Wasn't I the one who had to be convinced into doing this sort of thing? Obviously, society's prized ideals of how relationships should work weren't always true.

I pulled him towards me, kissing him deeply. He tried to pull back after a second, but I kept him from moving to far away. I was done talking. I wanted him. He wasn't like anyone I'd ever known. He was exotic and intoxicating. I wanted a taste of that. Of him.

He didn't need much more encouragement that night, after having been given the unspoken permission for us to continue.

* * *

Many thanks to Lady Lanera for Beta'ing.


End file.
